The role of postsecondary education in welfare reform. Ohio's JOBS Student Retention Program

The 1996 federal welfare reform legislation encourages quick employment over education and training for the nation's welfare recipients. However, some argue that a one-size-fits-all approach ignores the heterogeneity of this population. This article presents findings from a net impact evaluation of Ohio's JOBS Student Retention Program (JSRP), a program designed to facilitate success for public assistance recipients at 2-year community or technical colleges. The authors evaluate this policy using state administrative data sets. The analyses consist of unadjusted and regression-adjusted comparisons of means for the JSRP group and a constructed comparison group. Outcomes examined include program completion, employment, earnings, and welfare recipiency. Focusing on the most recent 11 of 16 quarters of data available, the average increase in quarterly earnings was 8.45% for program participants and 12.91% for program completers. The results indicate that encouraging postsecondary education for some welfare recipients will boost earnings capacity and therefore long-term self-sufficiency.     

Workfare Programs

Abstract

Workfare initially originated as an approach to guide welfare recipients towards self-sufficiency. Today, the same strategy is being utilized as a desperate means by the States to move welfare recipients into the workforce in order not to suffer further cuts in federal assistance.

This paper reviews many of the common barriers which participants experience as they attempt to move from being welfare recipients to employees. In addition, it presents effective workfare programs, identifies critically needed support services for workfare participants, and suggests policy recommendations for the future.     

Employment Among Current and Former Welfare Recipients: A Literature Review

ABSTRACT

The primary goal of welfare reform is to move recipients from welfare to work. Several factors influence the employment of welfare recipients. The purpose of this content analysis is to offer a comprehensive understanding of employment characteristics and important personal, family, and employment characteristics that either promote or deter employment among current and former welfare recipients. Social workers need a comprehensive understanding of these factors in order to design policy and social work interventions. This article is a content analysis of the results of empirical research studies. Implications and recommendations are offered based on the review of empirical research on current and former welfare recipients.     

Making the Transition from Welfare to Work: Employment Experiences of CalWORKs Participants in the San Francisco Bay Area

ABSTRACT

This study describes welfare-to-work participants in the San Francisco Bay Area, support services, experiences with the CalWORKs program, and predictors of employment status in the wake of welfare reform. Findings indicate that many are working and more Stayers and Recidivists than Leavers are using food stamps and Medi-Cal. Multivariate analysis reveals that race and financial supports were the significant factors contributing to employability, defined as the ability to secure employment despite the need to supplement earned income with welfare payments. To help people stay off of welfare, case management services are needed to help participants maintain employment and increase job skills. In addition to expanding our understanding of human behavior within the social environment of poverty, implications for practice and policy are identified.     

Disparities in Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Literacy and Vaccine Completion Among Asian American Pacific Islander Undergraduates: Implications for Cancer Health Equity

Abstract

Purpose: Low rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among young Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women need to be addressed, particularly given the high incidence of cervical cancer in this population. The current study aims to investigate predictors of HPV vaccination in young AAPI and non-Latina white (NLW) women. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted of a health survey administered to college-aged women (N = 2,270) at a large public university in the Midwest. Andersen's behavioral model of health services utilization guided the study theoretically, and hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate research aim. Results: NLW women had a significantly higher rate of vaccine completion than AAPI women (NLW = 60.7%; AAPI = 38.6%). NLW women also scored higher on all 5 measures of HPV vaccine literacy than AAPI women. Both groups of undergraduate women reported that increasing age, knowledge about HPV, greater use of gynecological services, and knowing someone who had cancer were significant factors related to HPV vaccination completion. In the NLW group, father's income was also found to be a predictor of HPV vaccination completion. Conclusions: Rate and predictors of HPV vaccination completion vary between NLW and AAPI women. Greater promotion of HPV literacy and gynecological service use should be made to young AAPI women to increase their HPV uptake. Further research should examine sociocultural factors that could hinder or promote HPV vaccination in young AAPI women.     

Challenging implicit bias: preparing students to practice with African American families

ABSTRACT

The disparity of African American families in the foster care system is a concern in the field of child welfare services and the social work profession. African American families experience unique challenges related to discriminatory practices and implicit biases in the child welfare system and by mandated reporters. To address these inequalities, state and local agencies have implemented prevention and intervention services to support minority families. Additionally, child welfare agencies have invested in professional development training for their workers to alleviate possible intolerant practices. This article describes implicit biases and considers how they could contribute to the disparity of African American families involved in the child welfare system. Furthermore, the article presents approaches to help social work students to identify and challenge their implicit biases to support culturally sensitive practices while working with African American families. It concludes with implications for social work education.     

Child day care and the employment of AFDC recipients with preschool children

In the context of recent federal initiatives to increase the affordability, accessibility, and quality of child care for the working poor, this article examines the degree to which expanding the supply of publicly subsidized child care in local communities may promote, through employment, the independence from welfare and economic self-sufficiency of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients with preschool-aged children. In a telephone survey of a random sample of 232 AFDC recipients who participated in a larger federally sponsored demonstration project in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, many respondents reported the lack of available child care as a barrier either to employment or to the attainment of a preferred job. Although it is concluded that increases in the availability of subsidized child care should be a component of any strategy to increase the level of employment participation, continuity, and success for this population, the results underscore the need for a multi-faceted intervention strategy to reduce the welfare dependency and to increase the economic self-sufficiency of these parents. Implications for further research are suggested.The data for this investigation were collected under Authorization No. 89-3-WR-NC-008 to the North Carolina Department of Human Resources from the Division of Program Evaluation, Office of Family Assistance, Family Support Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Additional support was provided under Grant No. 5-44232 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University Research Council, Office of Research Services. The views and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the North Carolina Department of Human Resources.He received his Ph.D. in Family Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1981. He is a specialist in work and family linkages, policy analysis and evaluation, and survey research methodology. He served as principal investigator on the child care evaluation study that is the basis for this article.He received his Ph.D. in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1982. He is a specialist in evaluation and research methodology, information dissemination and use patterns in public sector agencies, and welfare policy and initiatives. He served as project director for the study described in this article.     

Transition From Welfare to Work: Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy Influence on the Employment Outcome of African American Women

Empirical strength-based research focusing exclusively on African American female welfare recipients and employment outcome is limited. This study examined whether self-esteem and self-efficacy influenced the employment of African American female welfare recipients. Findings indicated that recipients entered the job-readiness program with a significantly high level of self-esteem. Their self-efficacy, however, was positively influenced by the job-readiness program, and once it was completed, the recipient's self-efficacy decreased.     

Temporary employment experiences of women on welfare

Females with recent participation in public welfare are a disproportionate and growing share of temporary help services firm employees. Research documenting low earnings, frequent job transitions, and low benefit rates among temporary workers has raised concerns that welfare recipients taking these jobs might have poorer labor market outcomes than those entering permanent positions. My findings show that a majority of welfare recipients working in temporary jobs were satisfied with their pay and working conditions and did not earn much less than those in other jobs. They did report, however, high levels of dissatisfaction with the lack of employment benefits received, and their annual earnings were still very low, reflecting chronic job instability that is endemic to the welfare population.     

The Perceptions of Welfare Reform by Michigan Families Whose Children Have Disabilities and Welfare Caseworkers

Abstract

This article examines family and caseworker perceptions of welfare reform and services as they relate to families who have a child with a disability. Interviews were conducted with 39 families and 77 caseworkers. Family questions addressed their perceptions of the welfare system, factors impacting their self-sufficiency, and their perceptions of needed program changes. Caseworker questions addressed their perceptions of welfare practices and policies and their education needs related to serving families who have children with disabilities. Familial perceptions of the welfare system were validated by caseworker reports. Implications for service improvement are discussed.     

The Implementation of a “Work First” Welfare-to-Work Program in a Changing Environment

ABSTRACT

Current welfare-to-work programs grapple with the issue of putting welfare recipients to work immediately or investing in long-term education and training. Because of the 1996 welfare reform time limits, “work first” approaches are predominating. This paper examines the innovative program developed by Goodwill Industries of Southern California, which meets the challenges of implementing a work first model with a low-skill Spanish-speaking population, while also providing services to overcome barriers to employment. This is accomplished in the context of a unique profit-generating business enterprise, which makes program participants both clients and employees.     

It Kind of Made Me Feel Important

Abstract

The enactment of the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 led to sweeping changes in U.S. welfare policy and practice. Given the time limits placed on adult recipients of cash assistance, and the multiple barriers to employment that many of these recipients face, alternative intervention strategies need to be developed. Welfare-to-work interventions provided by faith-based groups are one such intervention strategy. This paper discusses the rationale for faith-based services and introduces research conducted on one particular faith-based model of intervention for the target population. Findings presented center on participants' perceptions of the faith-based services they received, particularly on aspects of the program that were helpful and meaningful to them.     

The Effectiveness of Faith-Based Welfare-to-Work Programs

Abstract

This essay first highlights three major challenges of measuring program effectiveness. It concludes effectiveness can best be conceptualized in terms of program outcomes and that such outcomes-while difficult to measure-can be measured with sufficient accuracy to justify the effort. These considerations are then illustrated by data gathered from 17 Los Angeles welfare-to-work programs and their clients in order to assess the comparative effectiveness of faith-based and secular programs. The essay concludes that no one type of welfare-to-work program was more effective across the board than any other type of program. Instead, the different types of programs seemed to be especially effective in certain specialized areas. The faith-based programs were especially effective in providing welfare recipients with emotional support and a sense of having a sympathetic, understanding base of support. The for-profit providers were especially effective in providing needed training in marketable job skills and help in finding employment. The essay concludes by discussing two public policy implications that flow from this type of program specialization.     

Finding and Keeping Child Welfare Workers

Summary

Administrators in public human services are constantly involved in the exhausting challenge of recruiting and training staff in the child welfare arena. This article describes a program that the Commonwealth of Kentucky developed in order to address the recruitment and retention issue. The Public Child Welfare Certification Program is a special multi-university preparation program designed to recruit excellent workers from BSW programs who are prepared to take on complex cases with normal supervision within weeks of employment and to sustain those workers over time. Evaluation of the pilot indicates that the program is a great success in preparing students for child welfare work. Implications are discussed.     

Federal Welfare and Housing Policy at the Crossroads

Abstract

A time-series design was used to investigate an innovative, rent incentive-based employment initiative in a predominantly African American public housing community. The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the Welfare-to-Work (W-t-W) program on resident employment levels and on Public Housing Authority (PHA) revenues and costs. Data were collected on a purposive sample of heads of household (N = 313) representing 78.3% of those in the community. Over half of the residents were under 17 years of age, followed by 24.7% who were 18-34, and 15.5% who were 35-54 years of age. Mean annual income for most participants was less than $5,000, and 60% were welfare reliant. Fifty-six percent of the participants in the study (N = 179) received monthly rent credits (discounts) ranging from $23 to $333 (m = $87, s.d. = $38.60). Employment levels in the community increased considerably over the study period and the W-t-W initiative was cost-effective to the PHA. Implications are discussed regarding advantages and limitations of intersected federal welfare and housing policies, the need for formative, evidence-based assessments of W-t-W programs, and the achievement of economic self-sufficiency of public housing residents.     

Young children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors after mothers exit welfare: Comparisons with children of non-welfare mothers

Although not part of its stated aims, current welfare legislation is assumed to benefit children through increased parental employment and self-sufficiency. Research findings on the extent to which parental welfare participation improves child well-being are inconclusive. This study investigates the behavioral outcomes of young children whose mothers have received TANF using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2169). Controlling for maternal demographic characteristics, current financial status, and health risks, we found that the difference between children's externalizing behaviors in families of former TANF recipients relative to children of mothers who had never been on welfare decreased the longer mothers had been off welfare. However, overall, externalizing behaviors were significantly higher among children of former TANF recipients relative to children whose mothers had never received welfare. The findings suggest that ensuring healthy development for children requires long-term supports to help mothers as they transition off welfare.     

Seeking Liberation,Facing Marginalization: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders' Conditional Acceptance in Hip‐Hop Culture

Using interview data with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hip‐hop participants, we analyze how respondents construct hip‐hop as a liberating space where they can circumvent limiting racial and ethnic stereotypes. However, an intersectional lens reveals the constraints that hip‐hop's hypermasculinity places on AAPI men as well as the ethnosexualized expectations that AAPI women must negotiate. The experience of AAPI men and women in hip‐hop due to their unique position in racial and gender hierarchies interacts with stereotypical notions of AAPI people in wider society to relegate these participants to the margin rather than center of hip‐hop culture. Thus, we find respondents' constructions of hip‐hop less an indicator of hip‐hop culture's openness than a statement of how constricting the mainstream U.S. culture is for AAPI Americans, rendering hip‐hop's conditional acceptance preferable by comparison.     

Social Return on Investment Analysis

This article uses a social return on investment (SROI) methodology to analyze the social impact of a social enterprise offering a job and skills training program to an unemployed, largely female population. The social enterprise is based in Toronto (Canada) and run by a nonprofit agency dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women, primarily immigrants, through access to employment. We focus our analysis on a job and skills training program that provides clients with the skills and tools that they need to successfully seek employment in their efforts to (re‐)enter the Canadian labor market. Our goal is to determine the tangible and intangible program outcomes by applying and testing the SROI methodology.     

Welfare Reform on American Indian Reservations

Abstract

In this article we document trends in welfare caseloads and some initial experiences of service providers and welfare recipients on reservations within Arizona under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). We document the issues and concerns of state and tribal service providers as they implement the legislation on reservations that are often geographically isolated and which lack infrastructure, jobs, childcare and transportation. We also record experiences of women with children on reservations with the 1996 federal welfare legislation. These families experience similar barriers when trying to move from welfare to work as do their counterparts across the country; however, these barriers are magnified on reservations. The welfare recipients' barriers include: a shortage of employment opportunities on reservations; a lack of transportation and childcare facilities; low levels of education and job experience; and, individual and family problems. Poor families in Indian communities face additional barriers to employment because of their geographic isolation, lack of access to basic necessities (like telephones), as well as stereotypes and discrimination by employers due to ethnicity or personal/family histories.